Arrest shifts leader’s position

An Orange County Sheriff’s lieutenant who recently became head of the department’s Harbor Patrol in Newport Beach has been reassigned to a non-administrative role in the county’s largest correctional institution, the Theo Lacy Facility, following her arrest for a suspected DUI, department officials said Thursday.

Lt. Erin Guidice rear-ended a car on Jamboree Road, just north of the 5 Freeway, on April 15, Irvine police said. Both cars had pulled over to the side after the collision.

When officers responded, they noticed that Guidice showed signs of intoxication.

After a field sobriety test, she was arrested on suspicion of DUI, police said.

Guidice, a 22-year veteran with the Orange County sheriff’s department, had been assigned Harbor Master for the department’s Harbor Patrol stationed out of Newport Beach only weeks before the arrest, said department spokesman Jim Amormino.

She had been working with Harbor Patrol for several years before the promotion.

She had taken over as Harbor Master from Deana Bergquist, who had recently moved to another position in the department, Amormino said.

He added that authorities are investigating if there was any possible misconduct.

It’s a separate inquiry from any police DUI investigation that could be turned over to county prosecutors for charges.

“There is a pending personnel investigation,” Amormino said. “We started it as soon as we became aware of [her arrest].”

Amormino said if the investigation did not turn up any professional misconduct, Guidice could be reinstated as Harbor Master, but “we’ll evaluate it at that time. It’ll be based on operational need.”

Guidice has an excellent professional record, officials said. A DUI arrest, which is a misdemeanor, doesn’t typically warrant firing the person, Amormino said.

“We look at everything on an individual basis,” he said.